The present invention relates to a pneumatic tire having good steering stability and drainage property which have been improved in good balance.
Pneumatic tires are required to have repugnant good properties, steering stability on dry asphalt roads and drainage property on wet roads. A proposal to simultaneously enhance these properties is made in JP-A-2004-155416. JP-A-2004-155416 discloses a pneumatic tire having a tread pattern wherein a sipe-like narrow circumferential groove is provided on the tire equator in a center rib extending on the tire equator. However, such a tread patter leaves room for improvement in drainage property. In order to enhance the drainage property at a tire equator location, it is conceived to provide a wide straight circumferential groove on the tire equator. However, there is a possibility that the wide straight groove would decrease the rigidity of a tread center portion to deteriorate the steering stability.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a pneumatic tire having an improved drainage property without deteriorating the steering stability.
This and other objects of the present invention will become apparent from the description hereinafter.